Gecko Press

"A field guide companion to Giselle Clarkson's much loved The Observologist, this pocket sized edition is designed to fit neatly into a hand or a bag and be taken out into the world. It is beautifully produced, with cover flaps that fold out to give you a ruler and size guide, a small detail that captures the practical, hands-on spirit of the whole book.

"Like its larger predecessor, Pocket Observology encourages children to slow down and look really closely at the world around them. Organised into clear sections on invertebrates, birds, plants and fungi, it combines identification with genuinely useful guidance on practical things such as how to pick up a tiny spider or how to rescue an exhausted bee. The accessible, friendly writing style is engaging and straighforward, and the graphic novel and cartoon style illustrations make it a pleasure to browse as well as to use.

"This is a book that works equally well read at home or carried outdoors and used in the field by nature loving children. At a time when so much of childhood happens on a screen, its quiet encouragement towards the mindful practice of looking, noticing and identifying feels especially welcome.

"LoveReading4Kids recommends this for curious readers aged seven and above. It is ideal for shared exploration outdoors, well suited to classroom nature study and a lovely starting point for conversations about the natural world and the value of paying attention."

LoveReading4Kids on Pocket Observology by Giselle Clarkson

Kiki and Me by Leo Timmers is in stores now!

🎉🎉Toot toot! We are thrilled to be on the Whitcoulls Kids' Top 50 again with The Noisy Book by Soledad Bravi. New Zealand's favourite Gecko Press board book. 🔥

A very nice review and interview with Claire Mabey by Paula Green on Poetry Box - this is well worth an extra click to read, link in our bio!

Cass and the Beast by and

Readers are still discovering Edith by

This review from Children's Books Ireland touches all we love at Gecko Press:

"A humorous and unusual story, this is a very quirky read. The characters are easy to love and there are lots of funny moments, alongside some lovely messages underneath the story... lots of interesting vocabulary, without making the story difficult to follow. Overall, this is a sweet, funny and imaginative book that feels different from a lot of children's fiction."

How can a barn so small have room for everybody?

Guess the surprise at the end of this happy new board book, The Little Red Barn by Kim Crumrine.

Weatherproof, pocket-sized, and ready for your next very small scientific expedition—Pocket Observology: A Field Guide by Giselle Clarkson!

Observology is the science of noticing extraordinary things in ordinary places. You can do it every day and often without leaving the house.

This field guide to observology has diagrams, flowcharts and drawings to help you identify what catches your eye when you next explore outside (or behind the curtains).

It’s a quick reference to useful things like. . . How to tell a wasp from a bee and a cricket from a grasshopper. Who is a millipede, without having to count their legs. Where a goose has been. How to describe a leaf without using the word “green.”

The curious details of everyday wildlife can be found on even the smallest of scientific expeditions. With this guide in your pocket, no clues will escape your notice.

A new board book! The Little Red Barn by Kim Crumrine is a bright, graphic board book made of pure fun, in which an impossible number of animals find a bed for the night inside the little red barn. How does this barn that looks so small have room for everybody?

Claire Mabey, author of Cass and the Beast, answers a Q&A for

What do you hope young readers take away from the story? "I hope they feel some sense of awe at Cass’s gall; and are invigorated by her wild adventure. I hope they see the world a little differently—the possibilities of moonlight. Most of all I hope they absorb, even at a slant, the idea of finding out for yourself."

Illustrated by